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Abstract:

A fan impeller balance calibrating method includes steps of: placing a
fan impeller onto a balance measurement unit and activating the fan
impeller to rotate; using a detector of the balance measurement unit to
detect the amount of unbalance and phase of the fan impeller in rotation
and generate a detection signal according to the amount of unbalance and
phase of the fan impeller; and providing a counterweighing unit, which
receives the detection signal to find at least one hole of the fan
impeller according to the detection signal, which is to be counterweighed
and counterweighs the hole with a counterweight. By means of the fan
impeller balance calibrating method, the measurement and counterweighing
of the fan impeller are automated. Therefore, the working time is
shortened and the manufacturing cost is lowered.

Claims:

1. A fan impeller balance calibrating method applied to a balance
calibrating device having a balance measurement unit, the fan impeller
balance calibrating method comprising steps of: placing a fan impeller
with multiple holes onto a calibrating platform of the balance
measurement unit and activating the fan impeller to rotate; using at
least one detector of the balance measurement unit to detect the amount
of unbalance and phase of the fan impeller in rotation and generate a
detection signal according to the amount of unbalance and phase of the
fan impeller; and providing a counterweighing unit, the counterweighing
unit serving to receive the detection signal to find at least one hole of
the fan impeller according to the detection signal, which is to be
counterweighed, the counterweighing unit then counterweighing the hole
with a counterweight and determining the weight of the counterweight.

2. The fan impeller balance calibrating method as claimed in claim 1,
wherein after determining the weight of the counterweight, the
counterweight is cut with a cutting unit to position the counterweight
with the necessary weight in the hole.

3. The fan impeller balance calibrating method as claimed in claim 2,
wherein the counterweight is a solid.

4. The fan impeller balance calibrating method as claimed in claim 2,
wherein the counterweight is a glue material.

5. The fan impeller balance calibrating method as claimed in claim 2,
further comprising a step of rotating the counterweighed fan impeller for
the detector to detect whether the counterweighed fan impeller is
balanced in rotation after the counterweight is cut with the cutting unit
to position the counterweight with the necessary weight in the hole, if
the counterweighed fan impeller is balanced, the counterweighed fan
impeller being taken off.

6. The fan impeller balance calibrating method as claimed in claim 5,
wherein if the counterweighed fan impeller is still not balanced, the
counterweighing unit is again used to receive the detection signal and
determine the weight of the counterweight according to the detection
signal and after determining the weight of the counterweight, the
counterweight is again cut with the cutting unit to position the
counterweight with the necessary weight in the hole.

7. The fan impeller balance calibrating method as claimed in claim 1,
wherein the fan impeller has a top section and a bottom section, the
holes being formed on the top section or the bottom section of the fan
impeller.

8. The fan impeller balance calibrating method as claimed in claim 1,
wherein the detector is an accelerometer.

Description:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates generally to a fan impeller balance
calibrating method, and more particularly to a fan impeller balance
calibrating method in which the degree of balance of the fan impeller is
automatically adjusted to shorten the working time and lower the
manufacturing cost.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] Along with the rapid development of high-tech industries, the
functions of various electronic products have become more and more
powerful. As a result, the electronic components inbuilt in the
electronic products generate a great amount of waste heat in operation.
In general, it is necessary to dispose a heat sink or a radiating fin
assembly on the electronic component to increase heat dissipation area
for enhancing heat dissipation effect. However, the heat sink or
radiating fin assembly can dissipate the heat only by means of radiation
so that the heat dissipation effect is limited. Therefore, it is
necessary to additionally dispose a cooling fan to carry away the heat of
the heat sink or radiating fin assembly so as to enhance the heat
dissipation performance. Accordingly, the cooling fan is a very important
component of the thermal module. However, in operation, the cooling fan
often makes loud noise or severely vibrates due to some external factors
or the affection of its own structural design. In this case, the working
stability of the electronic component (such as the hard disk) will be
affected. Therefore, in manufacturing, it is necessary to calibrate the
balance of the fan impeller to increase the ratio of good products.

[0005] In dynamic balance test of the conventional fan impeller, with
respect to an unbalanced fan impeller, balance earth is manually added to
the hub or inner side or bottom side of the fan impeller and then the
dynamic balance test of the fan impeller is again performed to increase
or decrease the amount of the balance earth. Such balance test process is
repeatedly performed until the balance of the fan impeller is calibrated
and the fan impeller is completely balanced.

[0006] By means of the above method, the balance of the fan impeller can
be achieved. However, in the test, it is necessary to manually add the
balance earth to the fan impeller or remove the balance earth from the
fan impeller. Such process is laborious, time-consuming and complicated.
Moreover, the balance earth is manually added to the fan impeller or
removed from the fan impeller. This is likely to cause error of weight.
As a result, the achieved degree of balance is poor. According to the
above, the conventional technique has the following shortcomings:

[0009] 3. Error of weight is
often takes place in the conventional fan impeller balance calibrating
method.

[0010] 4. The degree of balance achieved by the fan impeller
balance calibrating method is poor.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to
provide a fan impeller balance calibrating method in which the degree of
balance of the fan impeller is automatically adjusted.

[0012] It is a further object of the present invention to provide the
above fan impeller balance calibrating method, which can shorten the
working time and lower the manufacturing cost of the fan impeller.

[0013] It is still a further object of the present invention to provide
the above fan impeller balance calibrating method, which can achieve
better degree of balance.

[0014] It is still a further object of the present invention to provide
the above fan impeller balance calibrating method, which can increase the
operation efficiency of the fan.

[0015] To achieve the above and other objects, the fan impeller balance
calibrating method of the present invention is applied to a balance
calibrating device having a balance measurement unit. The fan impeller
balance calibrating method includes steps of:

[0016] placing a fan
impeller with multiple holes onto a calibrating platform of the balance
measurement unit and activating the fan impeller to rotate;

[0017] using
at least one detector of the balance measurement unit to detect the
amount of unbalance and phase of the fan impeller in rotation and
generate a detection signal according to the amount of unbalance and
phase of the fan impeller; and

[0018] providing a counterweighing unit,
the counterweighing unit serving to receive the detection signal to find
at least one hole of the fan impeller according to the detection signal,
which is to be counterweighed, the counterweighing unit then
counterweighing the hole with a counterweight and determining the weight
of the counterweight.

[0019] In manufacturing of the fan impeller, the measurement and
counterweighing of the fan impeller are automated. Accordingly, the fan
impeller can have better degree of balance. Moreover, the working time is
shortened and the manufacturing cost is lowered. Also, the operation
efficiency of the fan is increased.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] The structure and the technical means adopted by the present
invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood
by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred
embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0021] FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a first embodiment of the fan impeller
balance calibrating method of the present invention;

[0022]FIG. 2A is a perspective view showing that a fan impeller to be
calibrated is placed on a balance calibration device of the first
embodiment of the fan impeller balance calibrating method of the present
invention;

[0023] FIG. 2B is a bottom perspective view of the fan impeller;

[0024]FIG. 2c is a perspective view showing the operation of the balance
calibration device of the first embodiment of the fan impeller balance
calibrating method of the present invention;

[0025]FIG. 2D is a sectional view showing the operation of the balance
calibration device of the first embodiment of the fan impeller balance
calibrating method of the present invention;

[0026]FIG. 3A is a perspective view showing the operation of the balance
calibration device of a second embodiment of the fan impeller balance
calibrating method of the present invention;

[0027]FIG. 3B is a top perspective view of a fan impeller to be
calibrated; and

[0028]FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the operation of the balance
calibration device of a third embodiment of the fan impeller balance
calibrating method of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0029] Please refer to FIGS. 1 and 2A to 2D. FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a
first embodiment of the fan impeller balance calibrating method of the
present invention. FIG. 2A is a perspective view showing that a fan
impeller to be calibrated is placed on a balance calibration device of
the first embodiment of the fan impeller balance calibrating method of
the present invention. FIG. 2B is a bottom perspective view of the fan
impeller. FIG. 2c is a perspective view showing the operation of the
balance calibration device of the first embodiment of the fan impeller
balance calibrating method of the present invention. FIG. 2D is a
sectional view showing the operation of the balance calibration device of
the first embodiment of the fan impeller balance calibrating method of
the present invention. According to the first embodiment, the fan
impeller balance calibrating method of the present invention is applied
to a balance calibrating device 1 having a balance measurement unit 11.
The fan impeller balance calibrating method of the present invention
includes steps of:

[0030] S1: placing a fan impeller with multiple
holes onto a calibrating platform of the balance measurement unit and
activating the fan impeller to rotate, a fan impeller 2 being provided,
in this embodiment, a bottom section 21 of the fan impeller 2 being
formed with multiple holes 23, the fan impeller 2 being placed on a
calibrating platform 12 of the balance measurement unit 11, the
calibrating platform 12 serving to control and activate the fan impeller
to rotate;

[0031] S2: using at least one detector of the balance
measurement unit to detect the amount of unbalance and phase of the fan
impeller in rotation and generate a detection signal according to the
amount of unbalance and phase of the fan impeller, a detector 111 of the
balance measurement unit 11 serving to detect the amount of unbalance and
phase of the fan impeller 2 in rotation and generate a detection signal
according to the amount of unbalance and phase of the fan impeller 2, the
detector 111 being an accelerometer;

[0032] S3: providing a
counterweighing unit, the counterweighing unit serving to receive the
detection signal to find at least one hole of the fan impeller, which is
to be counterweighed, the counterweighing unit then counterweighing the
hole with a counterweight and determining the weight of the
counterweight, a counterweighing 3 being provided, the counterweighing
unit 3 serving to receive the detection signal to find the degree of
balance of the fan impeller 2 according to the detection signal, then the
counterweighing unit 3 counterweighing the hole 23 of the fan impeller 2,
which is to be counterweighed, with a counterweight 31 and determining
the weight and length of the counterweight 31 positioned in the hole 23,
in this embodiment, the counterweight 31 being a solid;

[0033] S4:
cutting the counterweight with a cutting unit to position the
counterweight with the necessary weight in the hole after determining the
weight of the counterweight, after the weight of the counterweight 31 is
determined, a cutting unit 4 being attached to the bottom face 21 of the
fan impeller 2 to cut the counterweight 31 so as to position the
counterweight 31 with the necessary weight in the hole 23 and complete
the counterweighing operation of the fan impeller 2;

[0034] S5: rotating
the counterweighed fan impeller for the detector to detect whether the
counterweighed fan impeller is balanced in rotation, if so, the procedure
going to step S6, if not, the procedure going back to step S3, the
counterweighed fan impeller 2 being again rotated by the balance
measurement unit 11 and the detector 111 again detecting whether the
counterweighed fan impeller 2 is balanced in rotation, if so, the
procedure going to step S6, if not, the procedure going back to step S3;
and

[0035] S6: taking off the counterweighed fan impeller, if it is
detected that the counterweighed fan impeller 2 is balanced, then the
calibration of the fan impeller 2 being completed, at this time, the
balance measurement unit 11 automatically controlling the calibration
platform 12 to stop rotating the counterweighed fan impeller 2, then the
fan impeller 2 being taken off from the calibration platform 12.

[0036] According to the present invention, in manufacturing of the fan
impeller 2, the measurement and counterweighing of the fan impeller 2 are
automated. Accordingly, the fan impeller 2 can have better degree of
balance. Moreover, the working time is shortened and the manufacturing
cost is lowered. Also, the operation efficiency of the fan is increased.

[0037] Please now refer to FIGS. 3A and 3B. FIG. 3A is a perspective view
showing the operation of the balance calibration device of a second
embodiment of the fan impeller balance calibrating method of the present
invention. FIG. 3B is a top perspective view of a fan impeller to be
calibrated. The second embodiment is partially identical to the first
embodiment in step and thus will not be repeatedly described hereinafter.
The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the
holes 23 are formed on a top section 22 of the fan impeller 2. The
counterweighing unit 3 serves to counterweigh the hole 23 of the top
section 22, which is to be counterweighed, with the counterweight 31 and
determine the weight of the counterweight 31. The cutting unit 4 is
attached to the top face 22 of the fan impeller 2 to cut the
counterweight 31 so as to complete the counterweighing operation of the
fan impeller 2.

[0038] Please now refer to FIG. 4, which is a perspective view showing the
operation of the balance calibration device of a third embodiment of the
fan impeller balance calibrating method of the present invention. The
third embodiment is partially identical to the second embodiment in step
and thus will not be repeatedly described hereinafter. The third
embodiment is different from the second embodiment in that the
counterweight 31 is a glue material. The holes 23 are formed on a top
section 22 of the fan impeller 2 (as shown in FIG. 3B). The
counterweighing unit 3 serves to counterweigh the hole 23 of the top
section 22, which is to be counterweighed, with the counterweight 31 and
determine the weight of the counterweight 31 so as to complete the
counterweighing operation of the fan impeller 2.

[0039] In conclusion, in comparison with the conventional technique, the
present invention has the following advantages:

[0040] 1. The
manufacturing process is automated.

[0041] 2. The working time is
shortened and the manufacturing cost is lowered.

[0042] 3. A better
degree of balance is achieved.

[0043] 4. The operation efficiency of the
fan is increased.

[0044] The present invention has been described with the above embodiments
thereof and it is understood that many changes and modifications in the
above embodiments can be carried out without departing from the scope and
the spirit of the invention that is intended to be limited only by the
appended claims.